


Returning to Us

by Ellery_Almasy



Category: FF8, FFVIII, Final Fantasy 8
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-27
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2018-08-27 07:41:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8392972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellery_Almasy/pseuds/Ellery_Almasy
Summary: After the war, things settle down pretty quickly. Squall is running the garden to his best capabilities, but he feels like hes missing something important.Meanwhile, Seifer has made a small life for himself in the city of Balamb. Not everyone has forgiven him for his crimes, but hes determined to make things meet outside of the garden. Still, somethings missing.





	1. Commanders Duties

                _“Seifer Almasy, charged with the crime of Treason, Murder, Attempted Murder, aiding a Sorceress and multiple other crimes;”_

_“How do you plead?”_

_“Guilty, sir.”_

_“Very well. Will anyone speak in his defense?”_

_“I will.”_

_Green eyes met Blue._

_“I’ll speak on his behalf.”_

 

**Chapter 1**

                A year had passed since the war ended and Squall found himself stuck in the same routine. He made the mandatory class sessions, and had even started assisting in some cadets lessons as well. He couldn’t believe that when he was younger, he’d been as annoying as the new students that he spent time helping pick out weapons to suit their fighting style, or trained to work as a team. One particular kid in his first morning class had not only managed to knock over an entire rack of weapons, but had nearly killed himself in the training room trying to fight a Blobra without any spells. Squall had a particularly nasty burn on his arm to show for it.

                “Wow… You look like you’ve had a fun morning.” Zell whistled, grinning at his Commander as he replaced all the weapons on their proper racks. Squall gave him a dirty look, but said nothing to rebuke the comment. “Are you coming on the mission with us? Theres another uprising in the east.”

                “No, I did over see the mission assignment though.” Squall sighed. “I have three meetings, otherwise I’d tag along.”

                “Geez, you’re always in meetings.” Zell grumbled. “Its like we never get to work together anymore.”

                Zell picked up a lance, helping Squall set the weapons room right again. Squall couldn’t help noticing that he’d gotten taller, not by much really, but the martial artist wasn’t as scrawny and small as he was during their exams. A lot had changed in a single year.

                “I promise I’ll find time to arrange a mission for all of us to   work together again sometime, but with all the civil unrest in the other countires, I have to send you guys where you’re the most help.” Squall sighed. “Its really your fault for being good SeeDs, if you were shit, I could send you on greenhorn missions and be done with it.”

                “Ha! Did you just crack a joke?” Zell laughed, grinning his sharp little fanged smile at him.

                Squall just smirked.

                Once they’d organized each weapon properly, Zell disappeared off to his next class and Squall headed up to his office. As always, his message machine blinked at him, flashing twelve missed calls. He sat down at his desk and drummed his fingers on his desk for a peaceful moment before dragging a pile of papers towards him. He’d been helping Ward make an entire new system for the school, and slowly, bug after bug, they were getting closer to perfecting it. The folders were all written in small capital letters, the print of a mechanic he’d come to appreciate. It was easy to read, and though his grammar was a bit off, Ward always left concise messages. Squall examined the changes and slipped over to his computer to put them in.

                That was followed by returning eight of the missed calls, and ignoring the other four since they weren’t work related anyway.

                Squall sighed as he finished the last document on his desk and looked at his clock. It was past dinner time, and the sky had gotten dark. No doubt Zell and the others would be loading up for their next mission. He was stuck in Balamb. The Hero that ended the Time War; a title that had only rendered him trapped by responsibility; He was now the Student Commander, in charge of the student body and aiding the Head Master in mission execution. He’d also gotten mixed up in the maintenance of the school with Ward, after all who needed a flying school if no one could operate it? He was so swamped with school work, missions were a luxury. Like a vacation for him.

                “Squall?”

                The brunette looked up, frowning at the woman in his door way. Quistis had her arms crossed and watched him with an amused smile.

                “Did you need something Instructor?” Squall asked, arching an eyebrow.

                “I was going to ask if you were going to help me with my first years tomorrow.” She admitted. “You said you’d be happy to show them the armory…”

                “Yeah, I remembered, I have it marked on my phone.” He assured her. “No need to keep tabs on me, I’m not exactly your student anymore.”

                “No, no you’re not. In fact, you’re more than ready to graduate and become a full time SeeD instead of a student SeeD.” She agreed, face softening into a more kind expression. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop keeping tabs on you Squall. You know that.”

                “I’m a big boy Quistis, stop worrying.” He said, stacking his paperwork.

                “Never.” She said firmly. “You’re working way too much. When was the last time you got outside just to go fight some fiends in the mountains? Or go into town to look at the weapon shops?”

                “Tsk, my gunblade is fully upgraded, why would I bother?” He grumbled.

                “Because you use to love weapons? I can’t count how many times I caught you in there, arguing with Seifer about different parts and models of more than just gunblades.” She laughed, smiling at the memories. “You should take a break.”

                “I’ll go train tomorrow if you’re so worried for my sanity.” Squall assured her.

                “After my class.”

                “After your class,” He amended, patting her shoulder as he moved out of his office. “Right now, I’m going to go see whats left of dinner, and talk with Ward.”

                Quistis nodded, walking with him down the hallways.

                “Are you excited to be a graduated SeeD?” She asked.

                “Well… I guess. No more class work means more time for me to get my work done, and probably go on missions more.” He admitted.

                “Maybe you could become an Instructor.” Quistis suggested with a chuckle.

                “Teaching isn’t really for me. I get annoyed with kids.” Squall replied with a hum. “But Zell seemed interested in the close combat section. I think you should encourage him to go for it. And Fuujin… she has problems speaking, but I think she’d be good as a team runner. Just someone to take newbies out for first time missions.”

                “Squall.” Quistis sighed. “You’re a good leader. I try to talk about your future and you start suggesting I help others.”

                He paused, shrugging uneasily. He hadn’t meant to divert, he just knew what his future held. The Garden.

                “I already have something in mind.” He assured her, “Look, its late. I’m going to eat and go to bed, I have three meetings tomorrow after your class and I’m still helping out in the training room.”

                “Alright… sleep well Squally.” She said, leaning up to kiss his forehead. All these years and she still acted like his mother. He sighed and listened to her heels click around the corner.

x-x-x-x

                The morning came with a headache. Squall walked into Quistis class, nursing a cup of coffee  in his hands as he dropped into a front row seat. The blond looked up at him, arching an eyebrow as she prepared her lesson board.  They had about ten minutes before class started.

                “Tired?”

                “Headache.” He corrected. “Woke up to my phone ringing off the hook. A mission went south, so naturally instead of being smart about it, Calinst panicked and called me. God that man is annoying.”

                She chuckled, shaking her head.

                “And in thirty minutes you have to play tour guide, I’m sorry Squall.”

                He grunted and sipped his coffee. He was not ready for this class, but he knew he had to do it anyway. The first couple students started trickling in, giggling and joking as they took their seats. A couple stared at Squall, wondering what the student commander was doing there no doubt, but they just took their seats and whispered amongst themselves. The bell rang loudly over head and Squall fought down the urge to curl up and nap on his jacket like he use to in his early morning classes.

                “Good morning class.” Quistis called out as the final bell sounded when the last student was taking their seat. They all responded in chorus.

                Quistis went about her usual lessons, demanding the attention of the classroom. Squall almost felt like he should be taking notes, just being back in her class. He glanced around, watching some of the students scribble notes, or whisper to each other. The longer they attended Balamb, the more serious they’d become about lessons.

                “Alright, everyone finish up your notes, I’ve got a special lesson for you all today.” Quistis announced about a half hour into class. Squall took that as his cue to stand toss his now empty cup in the trash. “This is Commander Leonhart, he’ll be instructing you for the remainder of class. Behave.”

                Squall waited for her to make her way to her seat before clearing his throat and looking at the youths. Geez, was he ever this small?

                “Hello everyone, I’m Commander Leonhart, but I don’t mind being called Squall so long as you show me the proper respect given to a commanding officer.” He started out. “Today, I’m going to be talking to you guys about being a SeeD operative; the pros and the cons. Then… I’ll take you to see the weaponry.”

                The students got excited about that, whispering to each other and grinning.

                “Settle down.” Squall sighed, lifting his hand for calm. “Now the pros of being a SeeD, I’m certain you already know. Missions pay money, expert combat training, weapons, and traveling the world… so on.”

                “The cons however… You are on call 24/7. If a mission comes up, and you’re on the date of your life time… you have to go. If you are at your mothers birthday…. You have to go.” He paused to watch their faces as they took in his words. “Death. SeeD loses on average, fourty to fifty members each year. We are mercenaries ,  not soldiers. Not heros.”

                The lecture dragged on for a while longer, Squall called it short so they’d have enough time to visit the weaponry. He led the group out of the class room and towards the upper levels, pulling out is ID and holding it up for the rest of them.

                “Certain areas of the school are for SeeD’s only, you can’t get to them without an ID code and card. These are called ‘Non-Civilian’ areas, or SeeD floors. He explained. “The weaponry is where we keep spare weapons or replacements for emergency situations. They are all highly upgraded and very dangerous. You are not to touch anything without express permission.”

                The weaponry was guarded by two SeeD’s, who arched eyebrows watching Squall approach with a herd of kids.

                “Field trip.” Squall said evenly, passing his ID over to them. They ran it and nodded. “Okay everyone, line up, they’re going to check your student codes so theres a log of each of you that came in.”

                They went through check, and entered the guarded room. It was big, nearly four times the size of the training rooms weaponry. The students gasped and awed at the displays.

                “As you know, a weapon has to cater to its wielders fighting styles. The ones in locked cases, are owned. Don’t touch those. If you wish to inspect a weapon, let me know and I’ll help you with it. Go ahead and look around.”

                The students  meandered around the room and Squall walked over to his own case. It had a spare blade in it, not nearly as nice as Lionheart, but it served him well in emergencies.

                “Mister Squall?” A young girl asked softly. “Can you tell me about this weapon?” She asked, pointing towards a segmented staff.

                “That’s a sectional staff. You can use it as a traditional staff or collapse it for more close range battle. Its very versatile.” Squall explained, picking it up and assembling it for her, letting her hold it. She felt the weight and inspected the joints.

                “Do we have one of these in the regular training room?” She asked.

                “No, but if you talk with Instructor Trepe, I’m sure she’ll help you find one to practice with.” He chuckled, taking it back.

                “Hey! Dazyn put that down!” A student hissed from a few booths over.

                Squall looked up and felt a cold chill work up his spine. The kid was holding Hyperion. He’d forgotten after Seifers trial, his gunblade had been taken until his probationary period had ended. He guessed they hadn’t planned on returning it. He moved over quickly, a frown pulled tight across his lips.

                “What part of don’t touch anything without permission did you fail to understand cadet?” He snapped harshly, grabbing it by the barrel and pulling it out of his hands.

                “Hey! I was just looking!” The kid defended. “Its not like I was going to fire it!”

                Squall flipped Hyperion into his left hand, it was uncomfortable, but the blade was designed to be used by Seifer, who was left handed, the trigger leaned into his finger easier as he lifted it up and fired a shot into the air, startling the students. The gaurds appeared in the door, concerned.

                “These are SeeD weapons!” He called out, loud and cold enough so everyone knew he was angry. “They are LOADED. They are dangerous!”

                He glared at the boy. “You don’t even know how to hold this weapon. Do you know where the safety is?”

                “Uh… no…” The boy replied, his head lowered.

                “Do you know what happens when you disobey direct orders in SeeD?” Squall continued.

                “No…”

                “You get sent home.” Squall said slowly, letting the words sink in. The boy turned, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he grumbled and walked towards the door.

                “Get back here.” Squall ordered when he reached the still tense guards. “Everyone, resume looking, but no touching. One more and we’re leaving.”

                The boy shuffled back to Squall who squatted down with Hyperion across his knees.

                “Look, I don’t blame you for being curious, but you disobeyed clear instructions.” He explained to the angry looking teen. “Are you interested in using a gunblade?”

                The boy nodded.

                “Alright… there are different types of these weapons, I use a revolver, its heavier and built for two handed fighting. The blade on mine is thicker than this one’s to and these grooves-“ He pointed to dents in the blade. “Are thicker. This is where the bullets pass through… This one is a pistol version, its name is Hyperion.”

                “That’s the name of the style?” The  boy asked.

                “No, just of this gunblade itself.” Squall corrected. “Theres only been a few gunblade wielders in Balamb since its founding.  Myself… and Seifer Almasy.”

                The boy paled a little. “Is this…”

                “Yes, this is his gunblade.” Squall lifted it up, showing him a switch just above the trigger. “Its modified for a left handed user. See this? This is the safety. It was left off by mistake.”

                Squall flipped the safety on and stood up, clasping it into his holster.  “Come on, I’ll let you hold my spare blade.”

                “Why can’t I hold that one?” Dazyn asked.

                “Because you’re not left handed.” Squall replied, unlocking the case to his.

                He explained the blades mechanics to the boy and let him hold it, watching as his arms sagged with the weight. After a moment, he moved on to address the other students questions. Dazyn seemed pretty psyched about the gunblade, he continued to follow Squall around, asking questions in between him answering other students.

                “If you’re still interested in using a gunblade by the time you’ve got your weapon liscense, come see me and I’ll help you pick one out.” Squall sighed, rubbing his temples. The kid was endearing, but he just wouldn’t quit. “But you need to be certain, it takes a lot of practice with these.”

                “Squall… are you planning on returning my students?” Quistis asked from the door way. Squall looked at his watch. They were suppose to be in a different class already.

                “I’m late for a meeting.” He groaned, rubbing his face. “Shit, I got to distracted answering questions.”

                “Its okay, go on.” She said patting his shoulder. “Come on! Time to go, I will message your teachers accordingly to excuse you from your next classes. I’ll answer any follow up questions.”

                Squall exited the weapons room quickly, pulling out his phone to message Cid he was on his way. He was over a half hour late!

 

 


	2. New Job Prospect

**Chapter 2**

                Seifer wiped his forehead as he stood over his handy work, a proud smirk meeting the blonds face. It wasn’t exactly the prettiest hunk of scraps, but with some paint he’d have a function bike to ride around Balamb city. He looked at his dirty hands and let out a long sigh. He had more work to do, and had wasted probably too much time tinkering with his bike.

                A year had already passed since he was kicked out of the Garden, surprisingly with a lenient  sentence of probation and psyche evaluation. He didn’t know how, but someone had brought forward enough proof suggesting Seifer was mentally unsound. Not that he really argued that, he still felt guilty and kind of wished for a harder sentence. It’d put him out on the Balamb streets though, it’d taken a whole year for people to stop staring at him. The small apartment he rented wasn’t exactly in a good part of the city, but he made it work. After all, he didn’t want to blow through all his savings on an apartment. Even if his was shitty.

                Cleaning off his hands, with a rag, Seifer made his way out of the parking lot and up the stairs to his little studio apartment. As he expected, a man was waiting for him by the door, scowling as he shifted a heavy case in his hands.

                “Mr. Almasy?” He asked.

                “Yup, sorry, I had another project run long.” He sighed, unlocking his door and gesturing for the man to follow him in. It wasn’t exactly well furnished, but he had a couch and coffee table, and a book case in the corner, filled mostly with parts for his side job and boxes of items he collected from fiends in the area.

                “Are you sure you’re qualified for fixing weapons?” The man asked.

                “Sir, nothing is keeping you here.” Seifer told him bluntly. “I told you I can fix your blade, and I can. Don’t judge a guy by his apartment, how much shit did you have in your first apartment?”

                The man fell silent at that, setting his case on the coffee table and opening it up. Seifer whistled appreciatively.

                “Gigantaxe… haven’t seen one of these in a while. You military?” Seifer asked, kneeling down and gripping the handle, carefully moving it out of the case.

                “My grandfather was, this is his.” He explained. “It’s blade is-“

                “Cracked, I can see that.” Seifer hummed, running his fingers over the hair line fracture. It didn’t look like much, but one clash in the right way would snap the head off the axe

                “Yeah… My fathers being awarded and I wanted to have this fixed as a present for him. He uses an axe similar…” The man explained.

                “Tsk… Okay, so this is a tough job.” Seifer admitted, scratching his chin. “How long until the award?”

                “A week?”

                “A week…” Seifer frowned.

                “You waited until there was a week left to find someone to fix this shit? Even a master shop would need more than a week. This needs special items, and materials that most people don’t have on hand.” Seifer set the axe back in the case. “Sorry, but I can’t manage that.”

                “I’ll pay you double.” The man pleaded, “I’m desperate, and I can pay for the items too!”

                Seifer sighed, scratching his chin. It was a pricey job, but this guy seemed good for it. He held up his hand and scrounged around for a pad of paper and a pen. He inspected the weapon again and jotted down everything he’d need for the job then his estimated prices. He went a little high, just incase. He could always cut the difference later. He offered it to the man.

                “This is what I need… plus my work fee.  You give me half that up front, I’ll fix your blade for you, and you can pay me the rest when its done.” Seifer promised.

                The man begrudgingly dug out his wallet, handing Seifer a thick stack of cash. The blond tucked it into his pants, and handed him his phone.

                “Put your number in here, I’ll call you when its done.” Seifer promised. “It’ll be at least three days, so don’t freak out if I cut it close.”

                “Alright.” He nodded. “Thank you, I’ll be in touch.”

                Seifer knew he was going to need to visit a few weapons shops himself, to find everything and get the equipement he needed to fix the blade. So many shops refused to do custom jobs these days, it was hard to keep older weapons in prime condition. There was only one shop Seifer could think of that’d have what he needed for a decent price.  As the man left, he leaned over and grabbed the black jacket he wore around town. As much as he loved his trench coat, it just wasn’t something he could wear anymore. People stared at him when he wore it, they knew who he was and what he’d done. 

                Seifer had made quite a bit of money fixing weapons shops wouldn’t. Usually for silly reasons, such as the axe on his table, a hair line crack like that had to be specially treated, and it was a pain in the ass, but with the money offered, Seifer wasn’t going to turn it down. Even if he had to finish it late, the mans father would be proud to wield the weapon.

                Locking his door again and taking a deep breath, Seifer decided he’d start at some of the smaller weapons shops. There were five in Balamb, one was popular with SeeD members, so was really expensive, and a two of them only did specific types of weapons, so he’d have try the two small ones. They usually at least carried rare items.

                Seifer wasn’t surprised when the first shop he visited was empty, an old man sitting at the counter with a cross word puzzle in his lap. He looked up and smiled brightly at the blond haired youth.

                “Seifer! Pleasure ta see yah boy. Wacha need this time?” He asked, lifting his glasses into his thinning gray hair. Seifer pulled out his list and slapped it on the desk.

                “A whole bunch of stuff.” He said with a chuckle. “Got an impossible job I’m trying to do in a weeks time.”

                “Oh boy…” The old man flicked his glasses right back down. “Yah can get some of this stuff over by the sea, but its not gonna be easy getting these quartz.”

                “Do you have any of this in shop?” Seifer asked.

                “Mmhmm. But you’re still gonna need to do some hunting.” Gramps sighed, shaking his head. “Just not got my supply coming in anymore…”

                “Why not?” Seifer asked, frowning. “Something happen with your vendor?”

                “I’m closin’ the shop. I’m too old and my daughters wantin’ me to come live her in Dollet.” He explained. “Got three grand babies now. Someones gotta go teach them how ta make hell!”

                Seifer chuckled, a little bitterly. He’d liked this shop, and Gramps was a funny guy, he’d told Seifer a lot of stories about his younger years that reminded him of himself. They were both stubborn assholes, and if he was being honest. Over confident.

                “Well… I’m glad to hear you’re moving closer to your family, though it fucking sucks this shops closing…” Seifer sighed, glancing around. “Any of your equipment for sale, or are you taking it with you?”

                “Nah, I’m thinking about selling the whole thing.” The oldman admitted. “I can’t say I’ll actually need any of this over in Dollet.”

                Seifer frowned, eyes falling on the work station in the corner. It was for small items, and he knew the old man had a lot more stuff in the back. He’d gone back a few times to help him with some projects. Seifer had even fixed up a gunblade to use when he went hunting. Granted it was a cheap model and most of the parts needed replacing. The shop was decently equipped considering how small it was.

                “How much?” He asked.

                “Pardon?”

                “How much you selling the place for?” Seifer asked.

                The old man eye’d Seifer, but sighed, giving him a price. The blond winced, and shook his head. He had about three fourths the price in his bank account. He drummed his fingers and let out a long sigh. What was he thinking? Buying a weapons shop?

                Ever since he’d left the Garden, he’d made alright money doing odd jobs and fighting fiends. Did he really want to run a business? He’d been told by numerous people that he was a skilled weapons smith. Even in Garden he’d done his own repairs on Hyperion, but a whole shop? He liked working on weapons, it made him feel good, something that was very rare these days. He could fix things, make them better than they were. With his own two hands, he could improve things that helped save lives. Determination set in the blonds green eyes.

                “I need to go talk to someone about a loan.” He decided, pointing at the old man. “I’ll be back. I want this shop.”

                “Hold on a damn minute.” Gramps insisted, reaching forward to grab Seifers sleeve, holding the young man there. “Why the hell do you want a crummy place like this? Huh? How old are you?”

                “Twenty… twenty one in December…” Seifer admitted. “I like making weapons though. I feel like this is something I can do and be great at. Yeah, I know it’ll take a while to get going… but if I start now, spruce up the place…”

                The old man stared at him and sighed, shaking his head. “Fine, but I’m gonna give you some advice about running a shop…”

                Seifer nodded, leaning on the counter again.

                “First off… don’t forget the job you’re working on.” The old man scolded, holding up the list. “Secondly… I’m not selling for another month, so take your time… Third, start coming in every day and I’ll teach yah how to do orders and map out your hunting routes.”

                Seifer nodded, almost smiling.

                “Shit old man, way to make me feel special. Teaching me all the trade secrets.” He said.

                “Not all of them, yah gonna get your ass bit off a couple times by some beasties, that’s just whats gonna happen.” Gramps laughed. “Now take that list down to the docks and see who’s hangin’ about. Some of them end up with some items that they’ll sell cheap.”

                Seifer nodded, stuffing his list into his pocket. “Put the rest on my tab, I’ll come in for them tonight.” He had a lot to plan out. He had to finish this job, and find someone willing to give Seifer Almasy a loan.

 

 


	3. Wayward Cadets

**Chapter 3**

                Squall hadn’t realized he was still carrying Hyperion until he got to his room. He unclasped the blade out of habit, frowning at the unfamiliar weight. He almost thought about returning the blade to the weaponry, but a feeling in his gut told him it belonged with him for now. No one needed to be wielding his rival’s weapon, even Squall. He set it on his desk and opened up his own weapon case, retrieving oil and a rag. He doubted anyone had just sauntered in and cleaned it. The trigger had stuck when he fired it to startle the students.

                He sighed and disassembled the blade meticulously, pulling out a text book to glance over so he could say he got some studying done that night as he cleaned the chambers of the guns mechanism. The blade was still sharp, so he didn’t bother with it.

                He felt a brush against his foot and looked down at the wide eyes of Lionheart, one of his contraband pets. He was a little tuxedo kitten, with gold eyes and somewhere, most likely under Squalls bed, was a white kitten he’d ironically named after Hyperion.  He’d found them on a mission, they were starving and nearly dead. He’d looked around for more, but only found the two. He had meant to take them to a shelter, but he found that having something living to return to was comforting, so he’d ended up keeping them and due to a lack of imagination, named them after gunblades.

                “You hungry?” He asked rhetorically. Lionheart mewed, prompting Squall to get up. He wiped his grease covered hands on his pants. As soon as he picked up the bag of cat food, Hyperion darted out from under the bed. Mewing loudly.  Squall filled the two bowls on his floor and smiled as they dug in, lowering onto the floor with a sigh. The two were the opposites of their name sakes. Lionheart was loud and demanding, while Hyperion was reserved and preferred hiding.

                “Huh…” Squall mused out loud. It’d been a long time since he’d found himself thinking about Seifer, even after naming his cat after the mans weapon. Seifer had disappeared after his trial, though Squall had heard the reports on him. He was living on the other side of Balamb, near the ocean and he had a couple jobs going on, but Squall had been to uneasy approaching him. He’d testified to get Seifer off the death sentence, and vouched to get him tried on insanity, but he’d never sought his rival out to see how he was doing. It’d been to tense. To awkward; so Squall had avoided it.

                Hyperion mewed at him again, making Squall arch an eyebrow, picking up the white kitten and putting him on his lap. Lionheart was still nose deep in his food dish. He pet his fingers over the snowy fur, smiling at the soft pur he got.

                “You’re affectionate tonight.” He commented, sighing a bit. He was talking to cats. Maybe Quistis was right, he needed to get out of the school more often. Hyperion continued to purr, rubbing against his fingers.

                Blue eyes lingered over the blade still sitting on his desk, half assembled.

                “Maybe… I should return Hyperion?” He mumbled. The kitten cocked his head to the side, watching him with bright yellow eyes. Squall tickled his chin and hummed. In the morning, he’d clear his schedule and go into the town.

x-x-x-x-x

                The sun was barely up when Squall woke up, his phone vibrating on the table beside him. With a loud groan he rolled over, ignoring the annoyed sound of his cats slipping off his side where they’d been asleep themselves. He grabbed his phone and squinted at the number displayed.

                _Cid_.

                “Hello?”

                _“Squall, two cadets tried to go get their first junctions without aid. We just got a distress call, and no one else is able to go retrieve them from the fire caverns.”_

                Squall flung his sheets off of himself and yanked on his boots.

                “I’m on my way, I’ll be there in five minutes.” He answered.

                He pulled his jacket on over his rumpled t-shirt and laced his boots up. He looked a little ridiculous wearing sweatpants, combat boots and a fur trimmed coat, but Squall wasn’t about talk fashion with Ifrit. He grabbed his gunblade from the case and rushed out of his dorm. It appeared Ivrine had gotten the call to cause he was already in the elevator, shotgun propped on his shoulder. He’d choosen to come out in just his loose fitting jeans, no shoes, no shirt, his long hair tied up in a messy bun.

                “Mornin’.” Irvine chuckled, “Nice hair.”

                Squall huffed, running his fingers through his hair. “Same to you.”

                Irvine chuckled and followed him out into the garages for the SeeD operatives. They both split off, Irvine choosing a jeep while Squall mounted his bike. Squall was the first out of the garage, feeling the wind whip against him as he drove towards the caverns. He could see the sun starting to rise over the mountains, and scowled. These kids had to be trying to prove something. Going into the caverns at night, when fiends were more active, without someone helping them; they were either over confident, or just foolish.

                He could still remember how much he’d trained before he’d gone into fight Ifrit. It would have been a tough battle if he hadn’t of been prepared, he hoped these kids had at least found a good place to hide from the fiends.

                He dismounted the bike and removing his jacket before vaulting over the fence, covered in signs warning the guardian force was living within. _Two years since I’ve been here…_ He realized.

                The cavern was warm, bringing a sweat to his forehead before he’d made it three feet from the entrance.  He could hear Irvine approaching behind him as his feet crunched in the gravel, fiends growls could be heard deeper inside.

                “So… where yah think the kids are?” Irvine asked, catching up with the younger SeeD.

                “Could be any of the side passages.” Squall said with a frown. “We should look for any blood splatters or fiend corpses… These kids aren’t first year cadets… They’re just not SeeD’s yet. They’ll be well hidden, or backed into a corner.”

                "Maybe you should call on Ifrit… I mean if anyone knows who doesn’t belong in here, it’ll be him right?”

                “If I did that, they’d probably never get him to junction with them.” Squall scoffed. “I’m going to take the three deep trails, you want to clear the ones up front?”

                Irvine nodded and split off while the younger man headed further into the cave. Squall wasn’t surprised to see a few fiends laying dead in the caverns, telling him they’d made it a bit further ahead him, if he could just get a clue as to which branch of the side caves. He searched each branch, frowning as he stood in front of the main path, it’d been a half hour and no sign of the cadets. Irvine approached him alone and he felt a frown pull his lips.

                “They made it to the main chamber.” Squall said with a bitter certainty. Irvine nodded, following his lead.

                The clash of steel made Squalls heart jump and he pushed himself into a sprint deeper towards the place where Ifrit rested. He wasn’t surprised to see the beastly Gaurdian force looming over a struggling cadet. It was a girl, protecting her fallen partner. Squall pulled at his connection with Shiva, urging her to his side. Ifrit would back off if he joined the fight, while Irvine tended to the cadets.

                Ifrit was clearly angry, swinging a heavy claw down at the girl. Squall darted forward with enough time catch it with his gunblade.

                “C-commander!?” The girl yelped, lowering her weapon.

                “Fall back and help Irvine get your friend out.” Squall ordered, pushing Ifrits arm away from him. Shiva collected beside him, casting an icy wave to drive the other back.

                _You dare intrude…_

                Squall cast a tired look at Ifrit. He didn’t want to fight him, but he wouldn’t back down if the GF decided to. They’d fought together to long for Squall to lose his respect. The beast snarled, while Shiva picked at her nails, daring him.

                “Squall lets go.” Irvine called.

                Squall held eye contact, allowing Shiva to fade away. It seemed like Ifrit would let them go. He carefully stepped around keeping eye contact, but asserting that he was leaving. The beast let out a loud, angry roar.

                “Lets move them quick before he changes his mind.” Squall pressed, grabbing the female cadets arm as Irvine carried her unconscious partner.

                “What were you two thinking!?” Squall snapped.

                “W-we were just training! Fiends gather here and we wandered into the wrong cavern! We were just trying t get a leg up before the exam!” She yelped, trotting to keep up with the men.

                “This is a restricted area, you’ll be lucky if you get to take the exam after this stunt.” Irvine informed her, saving Squall the trouble of scolding her.

                “Hows the boy?” Squall asked, particularly grateful for the cool morning air as they exited the cavern.

                “Burned pretty bad, and he’s got a nasty laceration on his side.” Irvine reported, laying him down in the grass. “You got any heals on you?”

                “Nothing strong enough for this, grab the first aid from my bikes compartment. We’ll  patch him up best we can.” Squall suggested.

                “I have a curaga.” The girl offered, pulling her belt pack around.

                Squall felt a tick in the back of his mind, patience wearing thin. “That level of magic is not for cadets. How many other rules have you two broken, tell me now before I decide to just expel you.”

                “Squall…” Irvine mumbled, glancing between the brunette and the shaking cadet. “Come on they’re young-“

                “They broke the rules, and if they want any hope of staying in the program they need to be honest with me about what they have and have not done.” Squall said looking back at Irvine.  “It’s the only way I’m going to be able to save you two.”

                The girls eyes watered and she hiccupped loudly. Shaking his head, he pat her shoulder and took the curaga from her, using it to heal her friend. Irvine retrieved the first aid kit and together they patched the remaining wounds between the two up.

                “Come on, lets get back to the garden…” Irvine suggested, lifting the boy. “We can discuss this once we’ve all had some sleep.”

                Squall nodded in agreement. He glanced back at the cavern, he could still feel the heat wafting out of it. No doubt Ifrit was angry, it wouldn’t be an easy exam for the next cadets. Summons could be stubborn things, Odin still refused to be junctioned  by anyone after his battle with Seifer.

                Seifer.

                Squall groaned and rubbed his face. He was going to go into the city to return Hyperion, but now he had to deal with the cadets.

                “Commander?”

                Squall turned to look at the girl, shifting awkwardly behind him. He saw Irvines jeep pulling back onto the road, he’d left the girl for Squall to take back. He clicked his tongue in irritation, he wasn’t a very safe driver in the first place, why leave the young girl with him? Probably to attempt forcing him to get her side of the story, Irvine was sneaky like that.

                “Come on,” He sighed, walking to his bike. “I didn’t bring any helmets, so try not to fall off.”

                “Yes sir…” She nodded, and hopped on the back behind him.

                “So… want to tell me what convinced you that it was a good idea to come train out here?” Squall asked over the roar of the engine.

                “Avery said it was a good idea… that we’d get more training time and have an edge on the exam.” She answered a little too quietly, making Squall strain his ears to hear her.

                “Even though you know it was against the rules?” Squall asked.

                “He was going to go with or without me, I though that… maybe I could stop him from getting hurt! Then he went in the cavern, and I told him we should turn back but… then it was to late. Ifrit was going to kill us.” She answered, voice wavering. Squall felt a  thump on his back and he sighed, the girl was crying again.

                “You want to know something?” He called over the rush of wind around them. “In SeeD the most important people are the ones who are going to stick by you when you break the rules and keep you moving towards the goal…. But the worst people are the ones who don’t listen to their team and then get the team hurt even after being warned that it was a bad idea…”

                The girl shifted against his back.

                “We are mercenaries working under a military purpose. We’re not always going to do things orthodox and by the rules… but if you can’t keep your team safe, then you have no business being a SeeD member.” He continued with a sigh. “That doesn’t mean break the rules so long as you don’t get caught… it just means when you do… make sure you’re not following an idiot into a fight you can’t win.”

                The rest of the ride was in silence. The girl contemplating his words, while Squall concentrated on following the speed limit. By the time they arrived at the medic unit, Dr. Kadowakis assistant already had the boy, Avery, tucked into bed while Irvine finished the incident report.

                “Commander.” He chuckled, handing the shorter SeeD the papers. “I’m goin’ back to bed. Try to hold any missions until after noon.”

                “I’ll try, but you still got class.” Squall pointed out.

                “I can’t promise I’ll make ‘em at this point. Mans gotta sleep.” Irvine flashed him a wink and headed past him, ruffling the girls hair. “Chin up, he ain’t as scary as he seems.”

                “I heard that.” Squall called after him.

                x-x-x-x-x

                Hyperion and Lionheart blinked sleepily at their owner as he re-entered his room to shower and dress for the day. The two little traitors and curled up in between his pillows and blankets, looking quiet cozy. It was nearly noon, and he’d only just finished discussing the cadets punishments and filling out all the paperwork from their trip to the fire caverns. Quitis to say the least wasn’t impressed with his suggestion to suspend Averys exam until the following year but not Relaina’s. He suggested she be barred from current exam, but allowed to do the makeup come winter.

                He’d also pulled Relaina aside to tell her that kicking Averys ass in the training room was entirely deserved. Probably not very Commander like to tell students to beat up other students, but if he hadn’t ever spared with the other cadets in his bracket they’d of never trusted each other. Avery need to learn to trust and listen to Relaina, and she needed confidence to tell him, or who ever she ended up on missions with, no.

                “Alright, I’m going into town to get you guys some food.” He muttered to his cats, scratching the sleeping Hyperion behind one ear. He yawned stretching his toes out infront of him before he cracked one yellow eye at Squall.

                Gathering up the things he needed for a visit into Balamb, Squall knelt down by his bed to retrieve the soft case he used for transporting his spare gunblade, he’d need it for Hyperion. Traveling with an exposed weapon drew attention, traveling with two seemed to ask for trouble. Picking up the blade, he tested the trigger and hummed contently, switching the safety on and stashing the bullets in the inner pocket.

                “Okay….” He looked around, double checking that he had everything.  “Now lets just hope I can find Almasy to give this back, huh?”

                Lionheart blinked at him, ear twitching. Squall let out another sigh. He had to stop talking to his cats.


	4. Return of Hyperion

** Chapter 4 **

                Seifer awoke to yelling in the alley by his apartment, groaning the blond buried his face into his pillow. He was going to have serious words with his neighbors if they continued to wake him up everyday. Seeking out his phone in the mess of blankets, the man squinted at the screen. It was nearly ten, defiantly time for him to get up anyway. He let out one final groan of reproach before throwing off his blankets and getting up, stomping to his front door and undoing the locks so he could yell at them to shut up.

                Silence took over the alley way and he slammed the door with a satisfied sneer. The couple downstairs from him were always fighting, every morning when the husband came home, usually drunk or hung over. Seifer could probably charge them for counseling with all the arguments he’d overheard. Yawning, he looked around his living room floor at the disassembled axe and wondered if he should start his day with work or breakfast.

                He’d gotten most of the materials he needed to fix the axe from a pricey shop closer to the coast and what he couldn’t get from the old man, he found down at the docks. Easy enough to say the axe was a pretty expensive project; Seifer was looking at a nice chunk of money when it was done.

                “Lets see… I got the blade temping in the old mans shop…” He mumbled, repeating the steps in his mind, he easily had a few hours to spare before he actually had anything real to work with, all the pieces were ready to go, but the blade would take a few days to reforge completely. He let out another yawn and nudged the handle with his foot. Maybe he’d find some nice soft leather to replace the grip, it was looking pretty worn out, it’d give him something to do while he waited on the heating process.

                Seifer stood up and looked around the barren apartment with a small sigh. He had to unpack the rest of his stuff that way he could somewhat look like he actually lived there. He walked over and pulled a box open, searching for some clean clothes so he didn’t have to do laundry before he went out. He managed to find some jeans and a black t-shirt that Seifer was pretty sure hadn’t seen the light of day since he was sixteen. Frowning he pulled it on and quickly pulled it right back off, he was a fan of showing off his abs, but not in a shirt that was barely stretched around his biceps without splitting a seam. It reminded him of a time he and Raijin had found Fuujins tank tops and decided to put them on. She never forgave them for stretching them out. Chuckling at the memory he dug deeper for a shirt that would fit him. Finally, he found a white shirt with a blue stripe across the chest, at least they were his colors. He pulled it on, satisfied that it actually went past his belly button and sat like a normal shirt.

                Living outside of Balamb, Seifer had a rough time finding a stable place to stay at first, and hadn’t brought himself to fully unpack his belongings in a mild fear that he wouldn’t be staying there for much longer. Six months was probably long enough though for him at least find all his clothes and put them in the small closet in his bedroom. He had a box full of mementos, which didn’t seem like much in the long run, but after all the years in the garden he was pretty proud of them. Picture of him, Raijin and Fuujin cluttered the majority of the bottom of his box, with small things like the first chamber he ever blew out of hyperion, or the broken piece of Odins sword he’d kept as a victory souvenir. Shells from the first time he’d gone to the sea when he first arrived at Balamb and a broken train from his time at the orphanage.

                Running his thumb over cracked frame of him and Squall standing in front of the Garden when they were kids, he let out a loud snort. He’d never realized how sentimental he was, maybe it was a part of that old romantic dream, but half of his stuff was junk that signified one little memory. He paused as he caught a glimpse of metal among the pieces of junk. His necklace, the one he wore every day for eight years. A heavy sigh pulled from his lungs as he pulled it out, flipping it over in his hands. It was scuffed but he could still make out the cross on the back, his insignia’s origin.

                Glancing at the clock he noted that he had to get going if he wanted to find good leather, food and check on the blade on time. He snagged the pictures of his friend and of Squall and walked over to the shelf, pushing all the tools and weapon pieces to one side before placing the pictures neatly in view, draping the necklace in front of them. He could be sentimental later.

                x-x-x-x-x

                The market was crowded and Seifer was nursing a burned hand by the time he finally got around to getting his lunch. The blade had heated up easier than Seifer had expected, but the glove he’d chosen to flip it with had a hole in it, leaving a long red mark across his palm. He sat in the patio area of a restaurant, waiting for his meal as he rolled the ice filled glass against his hand.

                He startled when the chair next to him was dragged out and one Squall Leonhart dropped into the chair across from him wordlessly, pulling his gloves off with his teeth as he accepted a glass from the waitress approaching them. Apparently he’d ordered a drink before deciding to join the blond at his table. Seifer arched an eyebrow, frowning at the younger man.

                “Princess, and to what do I owe the displeasure? Did I miss a check in with the appropriate authorities so they sent you to play babysitter?” He asked calmly, watching his expression. Squall was hard and sometimes impossible to read, it’d taken Seifer most of their child hood to be able to tell apart his expressions at all. The dark thin eyebrows furrowed, annoyed at the nickname before one arched as a small puff of air left him.

                “Not that I’m aware of, seeing as last I checked you weren’t on parol.” Squall replied evenly, sipping at his drink, leaning back in his chair. He swept his eyes over Seifer, making the blond shift self consciously. “You look good… healthy. Last time I saw you-“

                “I was half starved and decrepit?” Seifer offered.

                “I was going to say you looked like a bruised up funguar, but sure. Lets go with half starved.” Squall replied with a small dismissive gesture.

                “Funguar?” Seifer groaned. “Now that’s just mean.”

                Squalls lips twitched up slightly in amusement. He looked more relaxed now that they had verbal accosted each other a bit.

                “Seriously… what are you doing here?” Seifer asked, rolling the cup slowly between his palms. “I can’t believe that you honestly wanted to play catch up.”

                “I needed to get out of the Garden for a while…” Squall replied, glancing around them. He shifted the soft case attached to his hip and let out a long sigh. Stormy blue eyes lifted to catch Seifer’s, debating something in that windmill mind of his before he detached it from his side and shoved it into the blonds lap  beneath the table. “I wanted to make sure this was were it belonged.”

                Seifer grunted at the force the brunette put into it. Squall stood up and set the gil for his drink down, clearing his throat. Seifer frowned and pulled open the case, feeling his heart jump into his throat. Hyperion, his gunblade. His masterpiece of a weapon.

                “I’ll leave you to your meal.” Squall said awkwardly.

                “Wait a damn minute.” Seifer said standing up. “How the hell… why…”

                “Hyperion was left in the armory… I didn’t think it was right that just anyone could pick it up. So I took it before it could get snatched up by some cadet.”  Squall replied, leaning his weight on the chair.

                “Cadets were handling my babe?” Seifer commented half joking half angry.

                “Just one… he didn’t even know how to hold it properly.” Squall explained with a small smile. “I snatched it out of his hands so quick I scared him….”

                “Really?” Seifer snorted at the image, sitting down to pull the case open a bit more so he could examine it. The barrel was shining with a fresh layer of grease, meaning Squall had been gracious enough to clean it before bringing it back. The safety was on, and the chamber looked empty. To be expected from the other gunblade wielder.  “Fuck… Thank you.”

                “Like I said… not just anyone should pick her up.” He replied with a small shrug.

                The waitress squeezed past Squall and set down Seifers food, glancing between them with an uncertain smile.

                “Did you want to order sir?” She asked.

                “No, I was just leaving.” Squall responded, straightening up.

                “Wait a minute… bring him a burger. Sit down Princess, you might as well let me thank you.” Seifer replied, motioning to the chair.

                Squall made a face. “I really should-“

                “Sit Leonhart. What do you have better to do? Paperwork?”

                The small scowl that Seifer got in response made him grin. He had him. He nudged the seat with his foot and Squall slowly sunk back into it. It’d been years, even before the war that the two had sat down and had a real conversation. He couldn’t think of a way good enough to thank him for returning his weapon to him, but attempting to be friendly was a start. Plus, he could get information about the Garden this way. Seifer didn’t particularly want to ever go back to the Garden, to many bad memories, but it’d had been his home after the orphanage was destroyed, he wanted closure that things were okay.

                “I wasn’t sure I’d find you today.” Squall commented, shrugging out of his jacket. “Fuujin said you usually stick around the lower part of Balamb.”

                “You could of always asked here where I lived.” Seifer pointed out.

                “Then you’d of accused me of stalking you.” Squall rebuked, leaning his arms on the table.

                “I could hardly blame you, I mean look at me, I’m gorgeous.” Seifer smirked, watching Squall roll his eyes and scoff again.

                “You’re still annoying, you know that?” He asked, barely glancing at the waitress as she set his meal in front of him. He looked at the burger with a frown, like the idea of eating was a foreign concept to the brunette; he sighed and started on his fries.

                “You’re still a picky eater.” Seifer rebuked, picking up his fork to cut into his own meal. “It’s a burger Princess, it won’t kill you.”

                “I’m not a picky eater.” Squall grumbled, flicking a fry at him.

                Silence fell between them as they ate, Seifer was pleased that it was comfortable. Squall seemed tired, but healthy, and being Commander hadn’t completely ruined his already stunted socialization skills. Seifer wondered how long it’d been since he’d hung out with Squall like this, probably when he was fifteen. He remembered them going to the weapons shop every time they had extra gil saved up, then having lunch, but after they started fighting those days disappeared.

                “You’ve got a serious look.” Squall commented, arching an eyebrow slightly.

                “Just thinking about the last time we did this. Eat together… have civil conversation.” Seifer shrugged.

                “I don’t know if civil is the word for it. We’ve insulted each other nearly every other sentence… but yeah. Its been a long time… I haven’t even had a real conversation that in some way didn’t loop around to getting work done in a year.” He sighed, staring at his food with a frown.

                “And how is work going? Nows the time to bitch about it seeing as I’m miles away.” Seifer offered.

                Squall shook his head with an irritated huff of air.

                “Between paperwork and finishing up my classes, I don’t have enough time for missions, and the time I do have is spent playing teacher…” He admitted calmly. “Other than that, Garden is the same as ever…”

                “How are the others?” Seifer asked a bit more tentatively.

                “Irvine is still chasing after anything in a skirt, but he’s been on a lot of missions recently so its forced him to behave. Selphie is enjoying her new position on the student board and Zell is splitting his time between missions and helping teach hand to hand… Quistis is bugging me about the future and continuing to be a complete pain.” Squall summarized quickly, “Raijin and Fuujin are pretty busy all the time too, I barely see either of them.”

                Squall fell quiet again, taking a bite of his burger and letting his eyes close for a minute. He looked so tired and run down. Seifer wondered when the last time he’d had a day off. He never saw the brunette come into the small city, and from the little rumors he got from Fuujin, Squall was constantly bouncing from one end of the school to the other.

                “So now that I got Hyperion back, you’re gonna have to come spar with me sometime soon.” Seifer decided, setting his fork across his empty plate. “I’m gonna get rusty if all I fight are fiends while hunting for items.”

                “If you want me to, it’d be nice.” Squall agreed. “Why are you hunting items?”

                “I’m fixing something…” Seifer replied waving his hand dismissively. He wasn’t going to jinx his new business just yet by bragging about it. He still needed a loan and to finish his Gigantaxe project. Squall arched an eyebrow at him, setting his half eaten meal to the side again.

                “What did you break?” He asked calmly.

                “I- what? I didn’t break anything.” He scoffed, flipping him off. “I’m in the business of mending weapons on the rare occasion.”

                Squall gave him a long look, but accepted the reply all the same. It was no surprise to him, Seifer had helped him fix his blade on the rare occasion when they were first starting out. There was a loud chiming and Seifer watched as Squalls expression dissolved from mild content into irritation, flipping his phone open, stormy eyes darting over a text message.

                “Have to go?” Seifer guessed.

                Squall glanced up at him and shook his head. “No… just some questions.” He replied, shrugging his thin shoulders. “This is technically the closest thing I have to a day off this month. I still have a pile of work to go home too… So I probably should go soon…”

                “Or… you could spar with me. Let me make sure I haven’t gotten rusty.” Seifer suggested. He wasn’t ready for the brunette to go, it’d been so long since his rival had acknowledged him, and so long since he’d have even a scrap of something that felt normal towards his old life.

                Squall frowned, looking from the phone to Seifer as he debated the offer.


	5. New Dream

                Seifer didn’t seem different. At least not in a way that was apparent just by chatting with him.  Squall couldn’t put his finger on it, but he had changed somewhere between the war and having to live outside the Garden walls. His fighting wasn’t different. Squall could still anticipate the way Seifer was going to move, though as always Seifers power and speed kept him on his toes. Even his attitude seemed pretty normal for the man, sarcastic and over confident. A slash whistled past Squalls head, he could hear the blade sing against his blade as he deflected the strike to his side, using the momentum to knock Seifer unbalanced, but the taller man had seen it coming and he stepped gracefully into a retreat. It tickled in the back of Squalls mind that he wasn’t as aggressive as he used to be, despite the overly arrogant smirks and taunts.

                “You’re thinking too much.” Seifer accused as he lifted Hyperion to intercept the brunettes strike. They stood locked for a moment, metal creaking against metal. Green eyes caught blue and Squall felt his resolve wane. Seemingly in agreement they both released pressure and stepped back from one another. Two years ago, he couldn’t say that Seifer would have just commented on his lack of attention, but probably of just smashed Squall into the dirt.

                “Its weird fighting you again.” Squall admitted as he wiped his forehead with his forearm, sticking the gunblade into the sand near his jacket.

                Seifer gave him an amused look. “Oh, I feel it princess. More like a rehearsal than fighting when its us. You’ve gotten better, no denying it, but I still know when and where you’re going to strike.”

                “Tsk…what ever. You’re no better…” Squall snorted, stretching his arms as he looked down the beach towards the water. Seifer had insisted fighting on the beach, the sand made keeping their balance a challenge. If it weren’t for the annoying burn in Squalls legs, he would say he didn’t mind it.

                Seifer hummed, carefully setting his blade next Squalls, making sure neither would fall. Cleaning sand out of the chambers was a pain, and could damage the firing mechanisms if they weren’t careful. Squall knew they’d want to go another round before the sun went down, if they had time, but for now he was content to let his arms rest. He almost didn’t want to go back to the Garden. He’d rather just stay on the beach and fight Seifer until they were to sore to move, like they had when they were still both cadets. Less responsibility. Less stress and much more fighting.

                “You ever think about coming back to the Garden?” He asked, glancing at the blond. Seifer had dropped into the sand, leaning back on one arm.

                “Once or twice, but realistically I don’t think I could last there now. Too much shit has gone down, and I’d never have the same respect for being a SeeD that I did back in the beginning…” He said with a frown, not bothering to look at Squall as he meandered closer to the water, toeing off his boots and socks to step into the water. He shivered a little, it was still too early in the year for him to enjoy the water.

                Squall hummed in response, knowing the blond was right. As much as he missed a walking challenge in the halls, Seifer wasn’t happy there before, despite his behavior, there was no way he’d enjoy it after the war ended. It was an amusing thing that he found himself missing Seifer Almasy of all people; even if it was for the simple fact that everything about the man was a challenge. As a gunblade user, he understood Squalls fighting style a lot better than anyone else, so he was a difficult opponent to beat. Even after two hours of sparring, they’d ended in a stalemate, both choosing to step out of it because their minds had wandered.

                “Squall, if you don’t stop spacing out, I’m throwing you in the water.”

                The brunette blinked, looking back at Seifer; who was looking at his phone with a small frown. Squall vaguely remembered that the blond had a project he was trying to beat a deadline on.

                “Its late, I should probably get back to the garden… you have some where to be as well, right?” Squall asked.

                “Tsk… unfortunately.” Seifer responded.

                Squall picked up his boots and made his way back to the blond. He wanted to say, ‘lets do this again’, but he knew that it would be an empty promise of plans. He never came into the city, at least not of his own accord. He would be buried under paperwork when he got back, and it wouldn’t change anytime soon.

                “Whens the next time you got free time?” Seifer asked, looking up at him from his phone.

                “I don’t know…”

                “Cancel what ever bull crap you have going on Saturday…” Seifer said, standing up. “I have something I want to show you…”

                Squall arched an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms.

                “Its something good, believe me.” Seifer said with a grin.

                “I’ll see what I can do.” He offered.

                “No… you’ll fit me in for Saturday.” Seifer demanded slowly. “This is important… and since you returned Hyperion, I feel like you’re the one I need to tell first.”

                The brunette paused, staring at the blond as he stood to dust himself free of sand. He wanted to agree, and just show up for the blond. His rival, who he’d gotten to fight for the first time in what felt like years. A low sigh worked its way out of him as he shook his head.

                “I’ll push something… Let me just move crap around.” He replied finally.

                “I took the liberty of putting my number in your phone while you were spacing out in the water.” Seifer informed him. “I’ll remind you Friday.”

                “I don’t need reminding.” Squall grumbled.

                Seifer just smirked and began to lead the way back up the beach to the road, grabbing Hyperion as he walked.  The brunette repressed the urge to repeat his sentence louder after the retreating blond. Being around Seifer had a strange way of making him childish in that way.

                x-x-x-x-x

                “You have a sunburn.” Quitis pointed out, giving Squall’s cheek a prod.  
                “I noticed.” He grunted, waving away her hand as he sorted papers into files so he could take his paperwork back to his room with out mixing anything up. “I was on the beach for a few hours training, I didn’t really think much about it.”  
                “You see so little sun now, I’m not surprised you burnt.” She responded with a hum. “If you go see Kadawaki I’m sure she’ll spot you a heal.”  
                “Its just a sunburn on my face, I can suffer a couple days of stinging.” Squall replied, glancing up at her as he slid the thick stack of documents into his bag.   
                “I’m proud of you… finding some free time for yourself.” She hummed, leaning on his desk while pulling her own stack of work back into her arms. Tests and homework, one of the many reasons Squall didn’t want to be a teacher. “You keep going at the rate you are, you’ll be able to put Cid in an early retirement. I mean he built this place from scratch, and so far you’re falling right in his foot steps…”

                He scowled at that thought; it was true though. Cid had built SeeD in order to eventually fight off Ultimecia, he served as Edea’s Knight for a brief period of time, then gave up a large portion of himself to build and run the school. Squall himself had become a knight, stopped Ultimecia before he became swallowed up by secretary work.  
                “You look like you bit into a lime…” Quitis pointed out.  
                “I don’t really like the comparison.” He admitted, shouldering his bag. “I have work to do, and a schedule to reorganize…”  
                “Something come up?” Quitis asked, arching her eyebrow.  
                Squall sighed and gave her a long look.  
                “Am I annoying you again Commander Leonhart?” She chuckled.  
                He grunted in response, flipping the light in the office to off. The older woman took it as a end to their conversation and walked past him, squeezing his arm gently.  
                “Good night.”  
                “Night Quitis.” He replied, following her out.      

                Squall hadn’t put to much thought into the similarities between him and Kramer. He hadn’t really sat to think about what the man had gone through between Ultimecia showing up from the future and the present day. Indirectly, through the orphanage and SeeD, Cid had raised him and Seifer both. When parents came for adoptions, and both were passed up for the other kids, he’d send for them to come into the city. Let them explore the shops and tell them about how cool it was going to be when they joined SeeD.   
                Entering his room, Squall was met by the very upset meows of two kittens. He sighed as he set the bag of kitty food down. Lionheart had gotten himself trapped under Squall’s upturned laundry basket, and Hyperion was lamenting the empty food bowl, if he was at all concerned for his brother, he wasn’t showing it. He flipped the basket upside right and scooped the laundry, plus kitten up and deposited back into the laundry basket. He chuckled at the annoyed noise his cat made, making his way over to drop his bag onto his desk. 

                “You don’t think I’m like Headmaster Kramer, do you Lionheart?” He asked as the kitten managed to flop his way out of the basket. He braced it with his foot so he wouldn’t trap himself again. The kitten ignored him, bounding over to his still pouting brother to tackle him. Taking mercy on the two, he filled the bowls so once Hyperion got free of his sibling he could finally eat.

                “You act like I starve you.” He commented, finally taking a seat.

                x-x-x-x-x

                “For the sake of Hyne!” Seifer growled as he threw down his clamps, rubbing his face in frustration.

                “Told you to let the quarts heat for longer. Now yah have to let it sit for another six hours.” Old man chuckled behind him.

                “If it heats for to long it won’t set right, Desch!” He snapped back. “If he wants to use this axe, not mount it on the wall for decoration, it needs to hold its structure.”

                “Who has been doing this longer? You or me?” He retorted. “You heat it and then reuse the cast to keep it from spilling out to much, you can grind the excess later.”

                “Its faster-“

                “Lazy.” The old man cut him off, pointing a pair of tongs at him. “You’re being lazy, now… I knew you’d try to cut corners, so I put some extra in fire for you, should be done in about thirty minutes.”

                Seifer wanted to cuss the man out, but he knew he was right.  He was just pushing the deadline a little to close for comfort. He grumbled quietly instead as he started to grab the heating cast he’d whipped up the day before. Gramps, who for some odd reason had taken a real shining to Seifer, had spent as much time as possible bossing the blond around while he worked. Seeing as Seifer was putting a real effort towards owning the shop; he was letting him use his equipment instead of the back yard set up Seifer had going on in his garage. According to Gramps logic, this gave him full rights to hovering and critiquing Seifer’s approach.

                Seifer wasn’t naïve enough to let his annoyance get in the way of learning from some one who had been running a shop for half a century. In just a handful of days Seifer had learned how to get to some of the best hunting grounds for rare items; how to tell an honest vendor from a shady one and how to make maps. He got crash courses on all the equipment and the basics of making weapons.

                “So you’re damn determined to get this done by Friday?” Desch asked with a frown.

                “Yeah… that way I can pay you back for the shop time…” Seifer sighed, dragging the cast closer so he could set the mold. “And, I have plans on Friday. So getting this out will clear up the day.”

                “Still looking for a loan?” Desch guessed.

                “No…” He frowned. “I think I’ve got one already.”

                Desch hummed, making the blond frown as he looked over at him. The old man seemed to be thinking about something, his fingers drumming on the counter.

                “What is it old timer?” He asked.

                “You shouldn’t get a loan. It’ll be hard to keep the shop afloat paying off that shit.” He stated calmly.

                “Tsk, yeah right, and how am I supposed to pay you back for this place? Hmm? Work the corner?” Seifer scoffed. “I’m pretty, but I’m not using my striking good looks like that.”

                “You’re a dumbass. You know that?” The old man scoffed. “Let me be your mainstay…”

                “What… like a sponsor?” Seifer stopped, turning to look at him.                                                                 

                “Congradulations, you know what a mainstay is.” He rolled his eyes and pulled out a booklet from his pocket. “I did the math… you pay rent here in the shop. There’s a room above it, so you could live and work here. Rent it out from me and you could own the shop in half the time it’d take to pay off your loans, plus you’d be wasting less money.”

                Seifer stared, like the man was speaking another language to him. He was offering to let Seifer pay off the shop instead of selling it in one go? It was a risk, if the business went belly up.

                “You… you’d really do that for me?” He asked.

                “Don’t make a big deal of it. You have a lot of promise and if I play my cards right, I can make a good profit off of you keeping this shop going… I’ll come down sometimes and see how its going. Even help out if I see fit. You pay me rent and for my stay.”

                “Old man, I’d kiss you if you weren’t so ugly.” Seifer grinned.

                “Yeah, yeah. Get to work or you’ll never get this done.” He grumbled. “Let me run the numbers by you so we can come up with an amount.”

                Seifer was always one who dreamed about destiny. Dreamed about that romantic dream, where you find your purpose and things fall into place. He used to think it was his destiny to be a hero, and Ultimecia had used that dream to corrupt him. She took it from him. Desch offering him the shop, and helping him finance it? It was a fresh start and a whole different dream unfolding in front of him.

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews help me write faster! ;P


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